Am I the only person who thinks that BMW have well and truly cocked up their 5 series. It looks ugly with an usightly rear end, a whacky and stubby side profile with a cheap looking front end. The i Drive is confusing to say the least and my wife would have run a mile rather than try and use it...perhaps thats a good thing though... Mercedes must be rubbing their hands with glee (I just brought the E320 over the BMW5)as I just couldnt grow to love the 5 the way I do the beautifull lines of the new MB. A committed BMW driver all my life but MB now have me hooked...what a drive
Anyone think of other cars that have been over engineered or stylised??
\" Keep doing the same old thing, youll get the same old thing, try something different today!\"
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I'm probably in a minority, but I think the current 5 series looks great, better than the previous one. Its one of those shapes that wont age too quickly, so well done Bangle! PS, I think it looks better (and most probably drives better)than E class Mercs too!
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Yes, ugly. But I think it's even worse on the inside. The interior of the new car, looks cheap.
I had the previous generation BMW, and despite not been reliable, I really liked the car; but won't buy a new one witht this styling. I'm probably going to get the new 3 series as it's less offensive on the eye.
The new 5 looks better in Sport with big wheels, and bold colours (black, brillian silver).
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Didn't at first but now I like the Banglised (new word) BM's.
Very different - very nice.
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Adam
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IMHO, the 5 looks pretty good. Better still is the new 3 - saw one last week in black and it looked great - futuristic and stylish, but then I am a Bangle fan.
I'd ask what Audi are up to though - all the recent facelifts/revisions of their cars seems to make them look more like Hyundais or Daewoos (sorry, Chevvys). Open jawed and blingy, seems to me they've lost the plot.
-- Lee Having a Fabialous time.
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>>Didn't at first but now I like the Banglised (new word) BM's.
Said it beforeAdam, I'll say it again...Great minds, great minds :-)
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The Official Sheriff John Bunnell Drinking Game
www.tommcmahon.net/2004/10/the_official_sh.html
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-- Lee Having a Fabialous time.
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Thanks Lee!
Can I just point out, I watched our mutual friend last night, played that game - and drank 7 pints!
"but this is not a racetrack and the driver is not a pro"
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Adam
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Several of my colleagues drive the old shape 5 Series and I really wanted to like the latest incarnation but it's just horrible. The Tourer (IMHO) looks better because it loses the ugly rear end, but the front and sides still don't work.
I was looking at 12mth old cars. Why are so many of them Black, with Black interior - it made the interior seem very dismal?
The options list is also very annoying - if the car needs all those things then they should be standard. 12mth old cars in BMW dealers, fitted with a few options, tended to be as expensive as brand-new entry level vehicles, which is just ridiculous.
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The Official Sheriff John Bunnell Drinking Game
You missed a bit out, it should read *The Official Sheriff John Bunnell(retired) Drinking Game*
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Totally agree.rubbish styling and over complicated,but they have topped it with the new 1 series.Now that is the ugliest car i have ever set eyes on.Wouldn't keep it if you gave me one!!
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What about the Bangalised SEVEN series? I really love the look of that, yet the FIVE doesn't impress me, yet they are obviously very similar. I like the high bootline, high windows, and the front of the seven, but the five just looks like it's a cheap pretender, which I suppose it is.
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The 5 looks like a more solid car oddly enough - sporty no matter what the variant. The 7 looks like a luxobarge - which is what it is. I love the 7 - the interior looks more like a house than my...well - house!
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Adam
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I think TheGrocers comments are spot on but I would also say the E Class is a real mess (sorry 'TheGrocer', I know you've got one!).
Mercedes used to look bomb-proof, like they had been carved from granite.
The latest version looks like it was made in a jelly mould and when turned out it hadn't set properly. Urgh! And as for the accomodation..........I was picked up by one Taxi version in Germany last month. We really struggled to get 3 in the back. The smallest guy (of very slight build indeed!) sat in the middle and the next guy (slim and 11 stone) and I (a bit bigger at 15 stone) were wedged so tightly in either side it was impossible to do up seatbelts without opening doors and contorting ourselves into positions to Karma Sutra hadn't discovered. The previous E Class was far better!
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I agree with you SFR on the rear seat size, but the loss of rear space is more than made up for the overall looks, performance and handling.
My point is that when you look at the old 5 and the new 5, BM have designed a car that actually (IMHO) looks worse than the previous model whereas the Merc looks better than the previous model. To follow on from that point (IMHO) I believe that BMW are losing sales from their target segment because of the way the new model looks. As with most things in the retail world we buy with our eyes and are lead by our hearts.
Does anyone know how the residuals have been affected on the old shape BMs?? I bet they are holding up well due, in part, to the poor looks of the new model!
\" Keep doing the same old thing, youll get the same old thing, try something different today!\"
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I looked at the E Class, and, surprisingly - because it looks big, it's the smallest car in its class.
I reckon old shape 5 Series have dropped a lot in price - maybe because the new shape is so different that it has instantly dated the old one.
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Now I know I've been giving BMW a bit of thrashing on another thread but Steady On !
The 5 isn't ugly, I agree that the previous 5 was a very very pretty car and added to its near perfect dynamics in my, and many other people's opinion, made it the best car that money could buy. bar none.
The new 5's dynamics are as good if not better than the outgoing model. Interior fit and finish is on a par with the old car and the I drive becomes intuative as you get to know the car. Perhaps being left handed means that you can use it as the designers intended (i.e. with the dominant hand). It is simple when you get to know it.
As for handling and ride I have no complaints at all. Today for instance I had to visit a client 36 miles round trip, A class rural roads and speed humped village roads (!). I enjoyed every second of it---every second of it, seat perfectly adjusted, controls to hand exactly as I expected, slick brief gear-changes and a nice bit of spring weather. If a car can deliver a wow factor every time you drive it on the most mundane run imanginable (especially when you've got over the novelty value of a new motor)it must be right.
The only real replacement for this car will be the 535d or E90 330d. Thinking about it realistically I wouldn't change anything about it. Nothing.
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Ugly as sin?
Sin can be quite attractive sometimes - that's the problem.
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I never thought of that..
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To be honest i prefer the older 5-series (E28) of the 80's my dream car would be an original M5!
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
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Sorry, the 'new' 5 series is simply gorgeous and I'm glad they chose to style the 'new 3 series' along the same lines. I can't wait to get hold of a new shape 5 series or a used 3 series in a couple of years time (I can't afford to buy either one new)...
Good on you BMW!
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Who cares what it looks like? do you spend your spare time standing around admiring it? or do you like to be admired while driving?
If either, then that certainly makes a statment about you.
for me, its what it goes like and corners like. its what the inside/dash etc looks like, as most people will spend more time looking at that than the outside. its what it sounds like, as you will listen to it while you are driving (or not if you have good soundproofing. its what the seats feel like after 500 miles. its how light my wallet feels after buying/servicing/filling up. So you could argue that what the outside looks like is really someone elses problem to deal with.
Would I personally have a new one given? Dont be silly! Pass up a brand new motor for free? (Lets see now, what colours does it come in...)
WTM
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No ambition to own one , but I find the current BMW 5 series very attractive , especially in dark grey metallic.
The only BMW for me has two wheels. Objectively it is hideously ugly but I love it!
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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Not enough money to own one- but am starting to get used to the shape.
Only thing is- am I the only one who thinks the front lights look like a pair of Edna Everidges glasses?
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I agree with PU in that the previous E39 5 Series was one of the finest mass produced vehicles ever made. The beauty is not only in the timeless external shape but in the superbly practical interior.
For me though the pick of the bunch would not be PU`s 530d, but the 530i Sport manual, which not only goes like stink but the amazing thing is that in manual format, it is easy to get 34 mpg on a motorway cruise set to 80 mph. I know the 530d will do high 30`s in this situation, but the 530i would leave it for dead and the sound of that glorious petrol 6 pot is well worth sacrificing the odd 3 - 4 mpg. Only problem is that in manual format, they are as rare as hen`s teeth, but if you can find one with reasonable mileage, they are a real gem.
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"the sound of that glorious petrol 6 pot" :-(
Oh don't......!
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Who cares what it looks like? do you spend your spare time standing around admiring it? or do you like to be admired while driving?
I don't particularly, no, and no. But I don't like people pointing at me & laughing while driving.
C'mon, with those looks & the iDrive, why would anyone want one??
(Slight bit of hypocrisy here - I had a Mondeo for a while, which looked OK in a bland sort of wy & drove well - in fact the same as all the other millions on the road.....).
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Mike,
Have you tried I drive or just read the drivel witten in mags ?
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>Have you tried I drive or just read the drivel witten in mags ?
The Thai Finance Minister has..
www.thaivisa.com/index.php?514&backPID=514&tt_news...5
Kevin...
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I've tried iDrive a good number of times and let me tell you that BMW could learn a lot from N-Form (the Nissan effort, which is much better). I also had the opportunity of 'borrowing' a brand new Audi A6 and taking it for a spin south of Munich for a day. Their iDrive copy (can't remember the name, sorry) is just as bad. Who wants to navigate through several menus just to turn the aircon off?
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Have you tried I drive or just read the drivel witten in mags ?
Admittedly I haven't tried it - and yes, I have just read the drivel! Clearly it would be ideal if I had tried it for myself, but the whole concept of menus, joysticks etc. while driving seems very alien and indeed dangerous. Technology for technology's sake?
I have to say that this is all theoretical for me, as I work for a charity & the chances of ever having enough money for a 5-series is pretty remote!! I loved the old model 525d I had for a short while in my last job before I was made redundant :-( , but have not tried the newer one.
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I think it looks fantastic, much better than the previous model
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